Proof
by brandstifterin
Summary: Serena isn't satisfied with how things have been left after Henrik Hanssen returns from Sweden and reclaims his job. The whole Biotek deal doesn't add up in her mind and Serena decides to do some investigating. One Shot. Complete.


**AN: This is a very long-overdue one-shot for 'massiveholbyfan125', I owe you another one-shot (and a couple of other people too which are all in various stages of completion) but this is payment on one of them; I hope you enjoy.**

**This is set back in January 2013 and I figured that Serena Campbell wouldn't just stand aside and let Hanssen take what she would think of as _her_ job without trying to find out what on earth happened in Sweden. So this is what I've come up with. Oh and Jac hasn't gone to Japan, the timing was wrong so I cancelled her trip, she'll get over it, I'm sure. In a couple of years. I'll just make myself scarce if she's near until then. **

**I haven't made up _Bolagsverket, _it really does exist and so I had about half an hour of fun researching all of this – it'll make sense later! Obviously Biotek doesn't exist and so I couldn't use the service but I'm assuming that it will give similar results to Companies House and so I'm using a bit of artistic licence there.**

**Usual disclaimers apply – I don't own any of the characters or anything Holby related, this is merely for fun and I don't get anything from doing this except for lovely reviews. Hint, hint :-)**

**...**

Tuesday 22nd January 2013

Holby City Hospital

12.21am

Serena Campbell is sat at her desk in her office just off the fourth floor general surgery ward; it's a few hours into the night shift and there are still several hours left until the morning changeover when Serena can head home and go to bed for a few hours to catch up on the sleep that she will miss tonight. For once she has caught up on all of the paperwork that Holby's most annoying Swede has sent her and she had been looking forward to a few blessed hours of Hanssen-free time at work.

She has left the office door ajar and the low light of the ward filters through into the room, she only has her desk lamp on for illumination, leaving Ric's side of the office in shadow. The ward is thankfully quiet and running smoothly, all of the patients are either asleep or resting comfortably reading books or chatting to a nurse.

Serena had wandered around the ward about twenty minutes ago and unless summoned for a patient, she'll leave the ward alone for a few hours, trusting the staff to keep things under control. There is a matter which has been nagging her from the back of her mind for nearly a fortnight which she intends to address.

It's been two weeks to the day since Serena sent Jac out to Stockholm to find out what on earth the former CEO and Director of Surgery, Henrik Hanssen was playing at. The man had repeatedly blocked a £40 million deal between the hospital and a Swedish pharmaceutical company, Biotek. Not the most original name for a company but irrespective of that, the money they were offering would have been a lifeline for the hospital and Hanssen has provided no explanation as to why the deal was never signed and the offer suddenly withdrawn.

It's been one week since she was demoted, without warning, from the office on the fifth floor which she had occupied since Imelda Cousins' departure as the ridiculously tall figure of Henrik Hanssen strode back into the hospital and into her operating theatre as if he had never left. Terrance Cunningham, the Chairman of the Trust had somehow managed to create a new role for Serena, 'Executive Director of Surgery' and simultaneously limited Hanssen's freedom; although all said, the amount of paperwork she's had to stay late every night to do has made this new role feel more of a booby prize than some kind of a promotion from Senior Consultant.

Serena admits that she has had more immediate concerns over the past seven days, however the whole situation with Biotek and the collapsed deal is still bothering her. The board appear to have lost interest in the £40 million which never materialised and she wonders if their lack of sympathy at her sudden demotion is symptomatic of them blaming her for the falling through of the deal. The idea angers her, after all, Hanssen was the one who has blocked the deal, for some reason the Swedes would only speak to him and Hanssen refused to speak to them.

She has her laptop on her desk, plugged in and turned on, the grey background of the hospital intranet staring back at her and Serena moves the mouse to the Internet Explorer icon and double clicks, loading the browser.

'_Biotek'_

Serena googles the Swedish company and tries to find out what she can about them, her Swedish is decidedly limited but she is working her way through their minimalist website on trial and error and the more than occasional use of a translation website.

From what she can gather, there has been a change of leadership at the company; the previous CEO, Anders Luvbourg died only a couple of weeks ago, some kind of cancer. She skips over that bit, doubting the man has any relevance to what she is searching for, mentally labelling him as some kind of 'old man in a suit'. The Managing Director, Nils Johansson seems to have temporarily adopted both roles. He was the man who signed the emails that Serena copied from Hanssen's email account and his name catches Serena's attention but there's nothing further.

She sighs, it was around that time that Jac Naylor returned from Sweden and then a week later the tall shadow of the Swedish grim reaper also reappeared back in Wyvern. Both of them adopting a 'ask me no questions' policy to her curiosity much to her frustration and disbelief.

She still doesn't think it unreasonable to request some kind of explanation for the man's absence or reappearance. However, Hanssen has made it quite clear that he will not tolerate her questions about it; a simple answer is all she needs, she isn't inclined to listen to the minutiae of his eight week break, she would rather stick pins in her eyes. Scratching just behind her left ear, Serena looks down at the notepad she has sat on the desk next to the laptop and the words scribbled on it.

_Biotek._

_Holby General Hospital._

_Link?_

_Henrik Hanssen? _

_Nils Johansson._

There's no pattern there that she can discern, no clue as to why a random Swedish pharmaceutical company would be willing to set up a substantial financial deal and partnership and then vanish with it back into the fjords from whence they came. Obviously Hanssen is Swedish but as far as she can find, there isn't any connection between him and the company.

From what she has overheard about the man and from what Cunningham has told her, Hanssen has hardly any connection between the man and his country of birth, he appears to have spent approximately the last 35 years living in England.

Serena doesn't know for certain how old Hanssen is but assumes early 50s, no later than mid 50s. She does the maths in her head – so the nine foot menace would only have been maybe 15 when he left Sweden.

She exhales and rubs her eyes, 'that can't be right'.

Nothing about this mess is simple, in frustration she scribbles out her notes and starts again, asking herself what it is that she _knows_. Snorting lightly as her mind supplies 'Sweet FA, 'Rena'.

_Approx. 1 year, Biotek deal with Holby. Hanssen continues to decline the offer. _

She starts a new list on the right hand side of the notepad: things unresolved.

_Why would Hanssen would say no to £40 million pounds?_

She sits back into her chair, exhaling in frustration as she does so, there are two people in this hospital who know, one of them refuses to speak to her any more than is necessary for a barely professional relationship. The other is just as stubborn but Serena is still their boss and hopes she can pull the rank card. Serena picks up the phone on her desk and dials Darwin Ward's extension.

"Serena Campbell." She identifies herself to the female voice who answers. "Who is the senior consultant on call tonight?" Her eyes narrow as she listens to the slightly nervous sounding answer.

"Right, I'll be up in a couple of minutes. Don't bother telling her, this won't take long." She hangs up.

Serena had thought that Jac Naylor was working, had correctly thought as it turns out. She steps on the green-themed ward, glad to see Nurse Maconie avoiding her, the man annoys her and she thinks that she scares him a little and smirks at the thought.

Sticking her head into the consultant's office, Serena finds it empty but decides to wait for Jac and sits herself down on the comfortable grey sofa against the back wall of the office.

"So," Serena announces her presence to the other consultant when she enters the room, ignoring the slight flinch as Jac jumps at the unexpected voice. "Tell me about your trip to Sweden."

"For the sixtieth time-"

"I'm not bothered about any cosy chats you and Hanssen had or the ins and outs of any smorgasbords." Serena drawls sarcastically, doubting that Hanssen has ever had a heart-to-heart with anyone, she can see the confusion even if the other woman's expression is restrained. "I want to know about Biotek." It clearly wasn't what Jac was expecting to be questioned about and Serena presses her advantage, wanting to catch the other woman off guard and actually get some answers.

"What about Biotek?" Jac is wary and Serena wonders what information the other woman possesses which is making her cagey. She waits for a few moments, watching Jac sit down at her desk and she draws out the silence for a few moments longer than it needs to be.

"I take it you went to the company?"

"Yes." Jac's answer is short and clipped and Serena knows she has to tread carefully and ask the correct questions before the red-head's patience runs out.

"About the deal?" She seeks to clarify.

"At your bidding." Jac reminds her, deflecting slightly but Serena lets it go.

"Who was it that you dealt with or spoke to?"

"The MD."

"What was their name?" Serena wants to be completely clear, there is obviously something she's missing and she wants to rule out what she can. Jac furrows eyebrows a little at the request but elaborates.

"Nils Johnsson"

"Johansson?" Serena asks, certain that the name she read on the Biotek website was 'Johansson' and not 'Johnsson'.

"It could've been, it was something like that." Jac shrugs and Serena sighs imperceptibly.

"He isn't the owner of the company though." Serena explains and Jac shrugs again, indifferent to the man's role.

"He was the contact between Biotek and Mr. Hanssen and he was who I spoke to when I went to Biotek."

"Did you not try to broker a deal while you were there?" Serena asks suspiciously, wondering just what Jac did while she was in Scandinavia and whether she was just a glorified tourist for a couple of days before coming back to England.

"Of course I did." Jac's annoyance creeps through and Serena holds up a hand in apology, not wanting Jac to clam up before she gets any answers. "He said they would only deal with Hanssen."

"Even though the man had tried to block it at every turn and then vanished?" Serena absent-mindedly fingers the ever-present glass and metal necklace as she ponders, not realising she'd spoken out loud until Jac answers her.

"It was the way the deal was constructed. He wouldn't say anything else on the matter." Serena's hands drop into her lap as she takes in Jac's sentence. Hanssen's behaviour doesn't make sense, Biotek's behaviour doesn't make sense.

'What am I missing?' Serena wonders silently this time. "But why would they only speak to Hanssen and not you?"

"Why don't you ask Mr. Hanssen himself?" Serena ignores Jac's question but doesn't miss the change in her tone of voice, Jac's patience is running out and Serena only has a couple of questions left at best before she will have to leave.

"Did you speak to an Anders Luvbourg?" A thought occurs to Serena and she asks anyway, acknowledging it's a long shot.

"No." There's a small pause before Jac answers, barely noticeable. "As I said, the MD was the contact."

"Do you know who Luvbourg is?"

"I've never met him, just Mr. Johansson for the third time." Serena thinks that Jac isn't saying something but she doesn't know what it could be It's clear that Jac wants her to leave and feels that Serena is overstaying her welcome but Serena is reluctant to let this opportunity pass. She sighs.

"Jac, all I want to know is why the deal failed. £40 million could have been a lifeline for this hospital."

"There was no deal." Jac's patience has come to an end and she picks up a pile of folders and opens the top one. "Now, unlike you I have some real work to do, I don't have the time to play detective about something that doesn't need solving." Serena leaves a few seconds later, Jac's final words replaying down the two flights of stairs from Darwin to Keller.

'There was no deal'.

**...**

Back in her office, Serena sits back in her chair as she turns the statement over in her mind. Of course there was a deal, she saw the emails. No company would use £40 million to tempt a make-believe deal. Serena sighs again, Hanssen was never tempted. His emails became brusquer and curter as the year progressed, not once showing any interest in a deal which later evaporated.

The persistence by the pharmaceutical company and tenacity to continue to make the offer to Hanssen for nearly a year despite constant refusals confuses her. If the company was so determined to complete the deal, their refusal to deal with Jac Naylor doesn't make sense.

The emails that Biotek sent to Hanssen were all signed by Nils Johansson. The MD but not the owner of the company. Serena realises that she doesn't know who the owner of Biotek is and she wonders if the Swedes have their own variation on Britain's Companies House website. A quick Google search later reveals that they do.

_Bolagsverket! – The Swedish Companies Registration Office._

Out of habit, Serena attempts to pronounce the Swedish word, trying to wrap her tongue around the name, although she has no idea how successful she has been or whether she has just mutilated the word. There is one man at the hospital who could give her an answer but Serena has no intention of ever asking him.

The website loads and it isn't dissimilar to Biotek's layout, "Swedish minimalism," she mutters, thankful that the page isn't cluttered with links and she drags her eyes around the page, looking for somewhere to start.

_'Priser'_

She spots the link and hovers her mouse over it, wondering if it's a price list. Deciding to click on it anyway, Serena finds that her guess is correct but finds she can't understand what the various prices are for. Scrolling back up to the top of the page, Serena sees 'other languages' in the top right hand corner and clicks on it, selecting English and suddenly the jumble of words and letters transform into something she can understand.

"That's made things a bit easier," the relief is clear in her voice and she feels like she's taken the first step forward. "Right then, what is going on." Serena narrows her eyes and begins to navigate the website with a greater confidence.

_'Biotek' _

Serena types in the pharmaceutical company's name and searches, pleased when she gets a result and she clicks on the link. A list of documents appear and she clicks on the first one but a pop-up window appears, the website wants payment information.

"Of course it does," Serena sighs, resigning herself to paying out and fishes her purse out of bag, finds a debit card, briefly wondering if this is something she can put on expenses before deciding that it probably wouldn't be allowed. She switches browser tabs and Serena refers back to the price list she'd looked at earlier.

It's 8 SEK for each document, Serena doesn't know what the current exchange rate is but has a vague recollection of Scandinavia being expensive so 8 SEK probably isn't as bad in GBP as it sounds. Either way, she doesn't mind paying if it gives her the answers she's been searching for.

There has been change of ownership filed recently, twice in the past fortnight in fact and Serena clicks on the more recent of the two, dated only a day before. She clicks on the document and types in her card number to pay, waiting impatiently as the download progresses.

Tracking the document download to 'My Received Files', Serena clicks on it and waits again while the pdf loads.

Not sure what to expect, Serena briefly scans the first part of the document – there is, rather unsurprisingly, a lot of Swedish that she doesn't understand and she curses, resigning herself to using a translation website again but then Serena sees a name which catches her eye.

_Nils Johansson. _

'So the MD does now own the company', Serena scrolls to the end of the page and then closes the document, almost disappointed by the answer.

It takes her a couple of seconds to process the rest of the document and realise what she has seen and Serena double clicks, trying to hurriedly reopen it. Mr. Nils Johansson does now own the company and ownership of Biotek was transferred to Mr. Johansson from a Mr. Henrik Hanssen.

Serena is stunned.

The words on the screen, most of which she can't understand have just multiplied the amount of unanswered questions that Serena has. She blinks and re-reads the words, wondering if she has misread it or whether the fact it's nearly 2am has made her see something which isn't there. After the third time of reading, Serena concludes that it is as she thought.

Hanssen owns Biotek.

No. Hanssen _owned_ Biotek.

'Wait', a voice calls and stops Serena's thoughts in their tracks before they can run wild. 'There can't be that many Henrik Hanssens involved in medicine in Sweden but are you certain it's him?'

Serena takes a deep breath, glad that her logical and rational side has made an appearance; if Hanssen owned the pharmaceutical company, she can understand why Biotek might approach the hospital with the idea of a deal; Hanssen being able to broker a deal of such magnitude would have cemented his place as CEO with the board and regain any ground he had lost prior to his sabbatical.

However, the Swedish surgeon declined and rejected any and every offer and advance that Biotek made via Nils Johansson. It still doesn't make sense. Serena closes her eyes and leans back in chair, part of her wanting to curse and swear in frustration. Nothing is adding up, the few answers she gets, the more questions that are generated and she feels like she is back at square one again.

Serena prints out a copy of the document before closing the pdf down and she is left staring almost unseeingly at the Swedish website and the list of documents available. She frowns as she remembers the other change of ownership document, dated about ten days before, just before Hanssen returned to the hospital. Wondering what on earth she will find, Serena purchases and downloads the document.

Scrolling her way down through an identical document, Serena ignores most of the Swedish, only interested in one small section. Her shoulders slump slightly when she reaches the answer and naturally, it only complicates matters and makes it all as confusing as before. Apparently the recently deceased CEO, Mr. Anders Luvbourg transferred the ownership of the pharmaceutical company, Biotek to Mr. Henrik Hanssen.

Serena frowns as she checks the date of the document and when she refers back to the Biotek website and its news about the death of Luvbourg, specifically the date of the man's death. "Luvbourg died before the company changed hands," Serena mumbles to herself before picking up her notepad and finding a fresh page.

_Biotek CEO – Luvbourg_

_Biotek MD – Johansson_

_Biotek MD contacts Hanssen. Deal? _

_Hanssen refuses._

_Luvbourg dies._

_Hanssen owns Biotek..._

_Hanssen gives Biotek to Johansson._

_Hanssen returns to Holby._

Serena exhales, rubbing her eyes before re-reading her new set of notes. As far as she can tell, Hanssen gets control of Biotek after Luvbourg dies and then almost immediately gets rid of his control of the company, passing it onto the Johansson, the man who would only speak to Hanssen about this £40 million deal which then vanished.

Serena prints off the second document and sits back in her chair, stroking her necklace as she decides what to do. There's something else going on here and she is determined to find out what it is.

**…**

Tuesday 22nd January 2013

Holby City Hospital

7.46am

Serena knocks twice on the door in front of her, waiting until she hears the room's occupant call out and she enters to find the immaculately-suited Swedish Director of Surgery sat behind his desk, tapping away at the keyboard of his laptop. He glances up, ascertains his visitor's identity before tapping a couple more keys and then pushing the laptop lid half-closed.

"Ah, good morning Ms. Campbell, what can I do for you?" Serena's grip tightens slightly on the folder in her hand, full of printed emails between Johansson and Hanssen and the Bolagsverket documents she'd purchased about Biotek.

"I found something rather intriguing overnight and wanted to get your input on it." Hanssen looks suitably curious at her words, tilting his head to one side and jutting his chin slightly as he waits for an explanation.

Serena casually tosses the folder onto the desk and Hanssen picks it up, his facial expression shuttering as he realises what the documents are. Serena calmly sits herself in the visitor's chair across the desk from Hanssen and doesn't bother to school her expression, allowing the satisfied feeling of getting one over the Swede show on her face.

"So, how about an explanation, Mr. Hanssen?" She drawls, meeting his gaze and settles back to wait for his answer.

**...**

**AN2: I have no idea how Hanssen is going to talk himself out of that one so I'm not going to try but if anyone else wants to take up the attempt, they're more than welcome.**

**Hope you enjoyed this :-)**


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